[ ] The Green Knight: You've recently come into possession of a sixth-generation KMF. The fifth generation, the Glouchester, was decidedly unimpressive. The Gawain, though, promises to be a different beast entirely. Letting Jaeger analyze it will likely yield interesting results. Cost: 500; Upkeep: 0; Time: 2 Years; DC: 50/70/90; Rewards: Unlock advanced technologies and the ability to design a unique KMF.
Shouldn't it be Gloucester? I think another typo managed to sneak itself into the main document.
Also wasn't the Sutherland the flagship KMF of the 5th generation with the Gloucester being just a refined version of the former? The Glasgow was the 4th generation according to the wiki and the 5th generation Sutherland was a marked upgrade over it. Or were the background rolls really cruel to the poor Gloucester and we will see something interesting in the rumor mill this turn?
While the Gawain is marked as a 7th generation in the wiki I can understand why it was moved to the "lost generation" in this quest due to the tech progression being made more realistic.
I am wondering if with the Gloucester becoming available if upgrading our elite pilots to them would be a waste of funds (and a Martial action) in the near future. Especially if we have a decent chance of getting a mass produced Gawain for our elite units in a couple of turns. Even if I don't like how the Gareth looks. For some reason I can't think of an anime mecha as an elite unit if it lacks hands to manipulate things.
[X] Plan: The Calm Before the Heavenly Storm
-[X] The New Heaven: So far, your only information as regards this potential attack comes from Minister Weber. You, however, have a number of resources at your disposal he does not even have an inkling of. You'll do your best to ferret out where the attack will target. Cost: 500; Upkeep: 0; DC: ???; Rewards: Knowledge of where the New Heaven Pirate Faction will attack, confirmation of attack plans.
-[X] Agent Activation: Finishes This Year.
-[X] Ramjet Theory: Quite honestly, you can't use this technology. However, you can sell it if you develop it properly. It might even net you a significant sum depending on the buyer. Hashima is certain of her ability to produce results, at least, and it's a significantly less strange than some of Jaegar's technology. Cost: 800; Upkeep: 200; DC: 60; Time: 2 Years; Rewards: Development of a potentially valuable technology.
-[X] Ruin Delvers: Between what Jaegar remembers from his travels and what you've plundered from the depths of the orb, you can pinpoint a number of ancient sites of great importance... in a general way. You'll need to assemble a proper team to really explore these options, though. Cost: 300; Upkeep: 200; DC: 30; Rewards: Archaeologist team assembled.
-[X] Combat Training: Crowley's people are not fighters. They are the lucky winners of a chance lottery which has rewarded them with powers beyond their comprehension. You simply want to teach the how to more... practically apply those powers to real-world situations. Cost: 300; Upkeep: 100; DC: 50; Rewards: Begin applying psionic skills and abilities to combat fields.
-[X] The Crystalline Orb: After mining the complex tide of information contained within the orb itself, you have a very good idea of what it was meant to be: a repository of ancient culture and a form of technology nearly lost to time and an alien invasion. What you don't know, though, is what exactly the physical structure of the orb is meant to have been created from. Cost: 50; Upkeep: 0; DC: 60/100; Rewards: Unlock the origins of the physical materials of the orb, discover where it was hidden through the ages to the modern day.
Leaving the voting aside for a minute... in the near future, we may be interested in taking Side Quest as one of our Intrigue action... anyone willing to share their opinion on who should we target if we do wind up taking the Side Quest action someday?
Leaving the voting aside for a minute... in the near future, we may be interested in taking Side Quest as one of our Intrigue action... anyone willing to share their opinion on who should we target if we do wind up taking the Side Quest action someday?
Chinese Federation? Odysseus? Carine?
We exist in an empire of competing interests in an age of superstates. There is no shortage of targets now we just have to worry about not tripping pop a hornets nest.
"In a moment." You hold up a hand to stall proceedings. "Dame Nu, do understand that I... care for Kallen a great deal. As much as my station allows me to, for that matter. I expect you to treat your position under her with the utmost seriousness. Am I understood?"
[ ] The Green Knight: You've recently come into possession of a sixth-generation KMF. The fifth generation, the Glouchester, was decidedly unimpressive. The Gawain, though, promises to be a different beast entirely. Letting Jaeger analyze it will likely yield interesting results. Cost: 500; Upkeep: 0; Time: 2 Years; DC: 50/70/90; Rewards: Unlock advanced technologies and the ability to design a unique KMF.
[ ] Ramjet Theory: Quite honestly, you can't use this technology. However, you can sell it if you develop it properly. It might even net you a significant sum depending on the buyer. Hashima is certain of her ability to produce results, at least, and it's a significantly less strange than some of Jaegar's technology. Cost: 800; Upkeep: 200; DC: 60; Time: 2 Years; Rewards: Development of a potentially valuable technology.
Leaving the voting aside for a minute... in the near future, we may be interested in taking Side Quest as one of our Intrigue action... anyone willing to share their opinion on who should we target if we do wind up taking the Side Quest action someday?
Indonesia: Although we have some idea as to their leadership, we don't know much about them. Combined with that we know they have a Sakuradite Vein, AND that they might be home to some ruins of the ancient human civilizations. Add into the fact that the world's shipping likely goes right through the straits of Malacca, it is a tantalizing prospect on a regional player that may very well affect our prospects not just for Australia but beyond.
Guinevere: Our half-sister who is to the Conservative faction what Schneizel is to the Liberal Faction in Brittania. Given the fact that we clearly favor Schneizel it is best to understand who likely heads up the leading rival political faction in Britannia besides our brother. One does not accrue that level of political and economic power on simple nepotism, and to quote Slayer...
... we really shouldn't ignore a royal that punches in Schneizel's political weight class. Also... she clearly hasn't been ignoring us if she sent us a feeler invitation
Japan: In retrospect we shouldn't have been surprised by the Sumeragi and Shinozaki meeting, and that whole interaction represents a failure for us to do research. As an intrigue focused character we cannot operate in the dark. Given how much we work with Japan at present we need to understand more about what Japan's goals, internal factions and a research deep dive can yield
Oh and...
[X] Plan: The Calm Before the Heavenly Storm
I really want to take the intrigue option for a third action but the rest of the plan I heartily approve of, It's probably too late for a third option to gain much traction
Leaving the voting aside for a minute... in the near future, we may be interested in taking Side Quest as one of our Intrigue action... anyone willing to share their opinion on who should we target if we do wind up taking the Side Quest action someday?
[ ] The Organization: You have... very little to go on here. All you truly know is that a group of people have decided to target Kenshin Jaegar and his childhood friend/assistant and paid off a large group of pirates in order to make sure the message stuck. However, a move like that must leave some traces. Cost: 400; Upkeep: 0; Time: Two Years; DC: 80; Rewards: Gain leads on what The Organization is and what its goals and MO are. (OCCUPIES SPY UNIT FOR THIS TURN, WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR ANY OTHER INTRIGUE OPTION)
[ ] Thieves in the Night: In modern nations, much of the abstract concept of 'wealth' is a digital consideration. That said, there are more than a few areas of the world which still rely on physical transfers of money, resources, and other valuables. Send your team of spies to 'liberate' some of that for your own purposes. Cost: 200; Upkeep: 0; DC: 50; Rewards: Vary by roll results, one-turn increase in wealth. (OCCUPIES SPY UNIT FOR TTHIS TURN, WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR ANY OTHER INTRIGUE OPTION)
Because we have the money I don't think we will need to grab Thieves in the Night. On the other hand The Organization option with Sayoko bonuses combined with our operatives is within the realm of possible success. While I don't think we should go against them offensively and gain more of their attention I think we should try to get more information about them in character. Lelouch can't really prepare himself for dealing with their elite "Orichalcum" using hero units if he doesn't know about them.
From new potential targets in our area of operation we have:
- Taiwanese terrorists. We have good diplomatic relationship with Japan right now. Making it even better wold be the way to go. For a couple of reasons. One is that I think the Taiwanese have ties to the Organization which might give us more clues about it. On the other hand helping to deal with terrorists will earn us more brownie points with the Japanese elites. Especially if we manage to help foil a terrorist plot against their new pyramid super city which I call "terrorist lure". Gaining brownie points with Japan will help in the eventuality of them finding out what we did with their ninja population. If they like us well enough they might just decide to let the fiction we built up stand as it will be more advantageous to them.
- Children of Ching Shih. We managed to get some penetration into their organization and found out about them having ties in India and acquiring some Chinese KMFs. To increase our penetration over there would require dedicated effort but might lead us to a potential diplomatic path of gaining them. The potential of gaining Rakshata Chawla (which we found out a from the previous OOC questions she is with this group) is also n the table if we can find out about her in character. I am more interested in finding a way of gaining the Children of Ching Shih without fighting them as having to rebuild New Heaven will be hard enough.
- Calico Cats. We already have an inside man to help us place more agents. Increasing our network there should help us with gaining blackmail material and we might even catch some bigger fish in the future. What I am hoping for is that Slayer is using the plot of someone there wanting to reform the place but lacking the strength and us needing to find them and getting into an alliance with them. Because getting someone on the inside to take over and become our vassal is the only path that I see unless we go with the "burn it down and salt the ground" plan of dealing with the den of depravity.
- An operation to find out what is happening in the Chinese court and why some factions are trying to ruin the relationship with the Indonesian Confederation. While we might manage to solve the crisis during the conference mini turn there is plotting afoot and we should look into it to make sure no more trouble will come from that direction. We might need to poke our noses into Chinese politics anyway if we want to deal with the Children of Ching Shih peacefully with their animosity with the Federation.
- Potentially setting up our own network among the Blood. There are a couple of reasons for that. First of all keeping our eye on Weber. Secondly any opponents of Weber will keep an eye on his actions and will work on countering his network. A second allied network that can't be tied to him might help with our goal of getting the Blood under our wing peacefully by dealing with the opposition.
While there are surely many juicy options in the Side Quest I think getting Shadow Administration next turn should be our priority. The second action next turn will most likely be either dealing with some emergency or upgrading our bodyguards for hero units. The second is really important before we start poking the Organization. I also think that with us gaining our third Intrigue action the operations that are behind Side Quest will most likely be expanded into normal Intrigue actions.
I'm somewhat torn in regards to the intrigue actions.
Bodyguard Plus would be nice for the upcoming conference because I'm pretty sure the Children of Ching Shih are going to crash it.
The New Heaven, on the other hand, is important because of the attack that's going to happen this turn and the diplomatic advantages we can get out of that.
And then there is Shadow Administration...
Ugh...
[X] Plan: The Calm Before the Heavenly Storm
As far as I'm concerned, the Cloucester really shouldn't be its own KMF generation. The primary advancements the new machines made were adjustments for KMF-KMF combat. It's really just a Sutherland that's been optimized for pure KMF combat instead of other jobs. If anything, it should be a Gen X.5 or XB instead of its own thing.
This was because other nations began using knightmare frames as part of their doctrine and Britannia wanted a dedicated anti-KMF unit. The proliferation of the Glasgow designs (used across four continents, there's no way this was staying secret), allowed a number of factions to start deploying stolen/salvaged/blackmarket last-gen KMFs.
If I gave Kallen and her group a Gloucester, I'd probably give the machine a bonus against KMFs, but a penalty against pretty much everything else. Not a devastating penalty, but something. As it is, I don't think Lelouch would shell out for a specialized KMF for a 'problem-solving unit' that's supposed to be more versatile.
Also, there's a tally below. I think that, unless there's a massive flood of votes for another option, we're probably going to call it early. I'm going to put... six hours on the clock now and we'll see where we're at.
Adhoc vote count started by Slayer Anderson on Apr 26, 2020 at 4:25 PM, finished with 57 posts and 32 votes.
[X] Plan: The Calm Before the Heavenly Storm
-[X] The New Heaven: So far, your only information as regards this potential attack comes from Minister Weber. You, however, have a number of resources at your disposal he does not even have an inkling of. You'll do your best to ferret out where the attack will target. Cost: 500; Upkeep: 0; DC: ???; Rewards: Knowledge of where the New Heaven Pirate Faction will attack, confirmation of attack plans.
-[X] Agent Activation: Finishes This Year.
-[X] Ramjet Theory: Quite honestly, you can't use this technology. However, you can sell it if you develop it properly. It might even net you a significant sum depending on the buyer. Hashima is certain of her ability to produce results, at least, and it's a significantly less strange than some of Jaegar's technology. Cost: 800; Upkeep: 200; DC: 60; Time: 2 Years; Rewards: Development of a potentially valuable technology.
-[X] Ruin Delvers: Between what Jaegar remembers from his travels and what you've plundered from the depths of the orb, you can pinpoint a number of ancient sites of great importance... in a general way. You'll need to assemble a proper team to really explore these options, though. Cost: 300; Upkeep: 200; DC: 30; Rewards: Archaeologist team assembled.
-[X] Combat Training: Crowley's people are not fighters. They are the lucky winners of a chance lottery which has rewarded them with powers beyond their comprehension. You simply want to teach the how to more... practically apply those powers to real-world situations. Cost: 300; Upkeep: 100; DC: 50; Rewards: Begin applying psionic skills and abilities to combat fields.
-[X] The Crystalline Orb: After mining the complex tide of information contained within the orb itself, you have a very good idea of what it was meant to be: a repository of ancient culture and a form of technology nearly lost to time and an alien invasion. What you don't know, though, is what exactly the physical structure of the orb is meant to have been created from. Cost: 50; Upkeep: 0; DC: 60/100; Rewards: Unlock the origins of the physical materials of the orb, discover where it was hidden through the ages to the modern day.
...but it's not. The Gloucester and Sutherland are both Generation 5 Knightmare Frames. The Gloucester, thus, is effectively a Generation 5.5 Knightmare Frame.
As far as I'm concerned, the Cloucester really shouldn't be its own KMF generation. The primary advancements the new machines made were adjustments for KMF-KMF combat. It's really just a Sutherland that's been optimized for pure KMF combat instead of other jobs. If anything, it should be a Gen X.5 or XB instead of its own thing.
This was because other nations began using knightmare frames as part of their doctrine and Britannia wanted a dedicated anti-KMF unit. The proliferation of the Glasgow designs (used across four continents, there's no way this was staying secret), allowed a number of factions to start deploying stolen/salvaged/blackmarket last-gen KMFs.
If I gave Kallen and her group a Gloucester, I'd probably give the machine a bonus against KMFs, but a penalty against pretty much everything else. Not a devastating penalty, but something. As it is, I don't think Lelouch would shell out for a specialized KMF for a 'problem-solving unit' that's supposed to be more versatile.
Also, there's a tally below. I think that, unless there's a massive flood of votes for another option, we're probably going to call it early. I'm going to put... six hours on the clock now and we'll see where we're at.
Well to try and resolve that... The Gloucester is (at least according to the CG wiki) is a 5th generation frame alongside the Sutherland. It could just simply be that the Sutherland is early 5th gen and Gloucester is late gen, or an advanced variant.
The big mystery is what happened to the 6th generation, as Gawain and Knights of the Round are 7th generation. Simply speculating, maybe the system of defense appropriations is even more byzantine and confusing in CG, and more open about favoritism. It simply might be a "tradition" that the cutting edge prototype knightmare frames will be used by Knights of the Round and select other users. From there the companies: Ashford and others simply make their pitches to the various Areas, Duchies, and Earldoms that need Garrisons. A very much a top down system and gives the Knights of the Round a very vital role besides just protecting the emperor and being his voice on missions, their military recommendations are the gold standard of military appropriations.
In the anime what might have happened to the sixth generation is that in the aftermath of the Japanese Invasion, the other military operations of the Empire were too reliant on 5th generation and simply extended the life cycle of those knightmares, rather than deal with the training a transition mid war would require. Cornelia stuck with 5th generation in the Middle Eastern Campaigns after all. 6th Generation must have existed but few duchies or areas even bothered if the leading military campaigns didn't transition, and by the time the Knights of the Round are properly introduced in R2, R&D moved onto the 7th generation and outfitting the Knights of the Round is a top priority as the Emperor's knights MUST have the best equipment. As a result this gives the Emperor, and his knights an absolutely incredible powerful voice in military procurement.
Heh, this might have accidentally explained why in the anime Marianne and Ashford were so close. Marianne recommended Ashford prototypes, and her voice pushed Ashford through the 2nd to 4th generations. Marianne's death meant they got the shaft for the 5th generation. Gino wasn't above recommending his own family's company of course, so his appointment as a knight of the Round must have been seen as an enormous business coup by his family.
...Now I have an omake idea of Milly trying to curry favor with a Knight of the Round for whatever generation we are at in quest. Are the Knights publicly known besides Waldstein?
While on the subject of knightmare frame generation (all I could find out about 6th generation was absolutely nothing no knightmares fit into that category) but what are the first and second gen
...but it's not. The Gloucester and Sutherland are both Generation 5 Knightmare Frames. The Gloucester, thus, is effectively a Generation 5.5 Knightmare Frame.
Well to try and resolve that... The Gloucester is (at least according to the CG wiki) is a 5th generation frame alongside the Sutherland. It could just simply be that the Sutherland is early 5th gen and Gloucester is late gen, or an advanced variant.
I'll check that out in the wiki, not at home currently. If I'm wrong about that, it will be with relief. At least something in the tech progression of CG will make sense.
While on the subject of knightmare frame generation (all I could find out about 6th generation was absolutely nothing no knightmares fit into that category) but what are the first and second gen
First and Second gen were never fielded. They were probably pure laboratory prototypes that, like third gen, needed to remain tethered to a generator and were even less impressive.
While on the subject of knightmare frame generation (all I could find out about 6th generation was absolutely nothing no knightmares fit into that category) but what are the first and second gen
CG canon is... weird on the subject. Apparently (if CG wiki is to be believed) Knightmares were originally developed out from ejection systems for like jet fighters... and Brittania thought you should slap a pair of legs on that so that the pilot can run away. Apparently later someone thought "Hey what if the pilot just is slotted into a frame and keeps fighting, but in a giant robot." Totally sensible <rolls eyes>
As far as I'm concerned, the Cloucester really shouldn't be its own KMF generation. The primary advancements the new machines made were adjustments for KMF-KMF combat. It's really just a Sutherland that's been optimized for pure KMF combat instead of other jobs. If anything, it should be a Gen X.5 or XB instead of its own thing.
I am still confused about this to be honest. The Gloucester was never stated on the wiki as a separate generation.
I always thought it went like:
1st Gen: "Walking cockpit" prototypes
2nd Gen: Development of technology like Factspheres and Landspinners. First real KMF prototypes
3rd Gen: Ganymede and other prototypes resulting from the development programs.
4th Gen: Glasgow, Portman ,Glasgow knockoffs like the Burai or the Chinese Gun-Ru (most likely since it was designed to match the Glasgow when it was released)
5th Gen: Sutherland, Gloucester (an optimized Sutherland variant that was modified to get the most out of the design for close combat), Portman Type 2 (most likely gen 5 and was to the Type 1 what the Sutherland was to the Glasgow), Gekka
6th Gen: the "missing generation". It only had the Gawain prototype (the finished version is marked as a 7th gen due to the tech added later). It was most likely the generation of prototypes like the 3rd and one off models like those made for the Knights of Round.
7th Gen: Lancelot and it derivatives, Gareth (mass production model based on the completed Gawain), Akatsuki
The 6th and 7th are mostly counted together according to the wiki.
EDIT: As for the 8th and 9th generations. Those were high performance prototypes. Knight of Round frames, Shinkirō (it has some 8th gen technologies but is counted mostly as a 7th Gen) and the Lancelot Albion and the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N (only two 9th gen).
...Now I have an omake idea of Milly trying to curry favor with a Knight of the Round for whatever generation we are at in quest. Are the Knights publicly known besides Waldstein?
Bismarck is the Knight of One.
Michele Manfredi is the Knight of Two (he's semi-permanently busy in Euro-Britannia heading the Order of Micheal and riding herd on E-B for Charles)
Dorthea Earnst is the Knight of Four.
Marianne vi Britannia is the Knight of Six (semi-retired, she nominally holds her position until a replacement is appointed)
Christoff Chamberlain is the Knight of Eight.
Nonette Enneagram is the Knight of Nine.
Alphonso Barbados is the Knight of Eleven.
Monica Krushevsky is the Knight of Twelve.
EDIT2: As for the Gloucester vs Sutherland. According to the wiki the Gloucester has all the equipment of the Sutherland but was in addition optimized for close range combat. Basically over the lifecycle of the Sutherland they gathered all the tweaks and small upgrades, focused on those that made close combat most effective and turned out a KMF called Gloucester instead of Sutherland Elite or something like that.
There is nothing stopping the Gloucester from using a rifle instead of a lance or other close combat weapon. The preference is due to the mentality of the pilots that use them. And most likely a reason why no one bothered with designing a Sutherland variant that is optimized for medium to long range.
To the best of my knowledge they didn't remove anything dealing with long range.
Here are some images. In spoilers due to size.
EDIT3: And I realize that the sniper image makes absolutely no sense. Knightmare looking through a scope. Ugh. And don't start me on the cape. Edna Mode would have words with the Knightmare fashion designers.
1st Gen: "Walking cockpit" prototypes
2nd Gen: Development of technology like Factspheres and Landspinners. First real KMF prototypes
3rd Gen: Ganymede and other prototypes resulting from the development programs.
4th Gen: Glasgow, Portman ,Glasgow knockoffs like the Burai or the Chinese Gun-Ru (most likely since it was designed to match the Glasgow when it was released)
5th Gen: Sutherland, Gloucester (an optimized Sutherland variant that was modified to get the most out of the design for close combat), Portman Type 2 (most likely gen 5 and was to the Type 1 what the Sutherland was to the Glasgow), Gekka
6th Gen: the "missing generation". It only had the Gawain prototype (the finished version is marked as a 7th gen due to the tech added later). It was most likely the generation of prototypes like the 3rd and one off models like those made for the Knights of Round.
7th Gen: Lancelot and it derivatives, Gareth (mass production model based on the completed Gawain), Akatsuki
Yeah, and then the 8th Gen are the custom Knightmares of the Knights of the Round (the Mordred, the Tristan, etc) and some upgraded ones that could fly.
9th Gen... that's the Guren SEITEN and Lancelot Albion, and as far as I know, only those two existed for that Generation by the time the series ended.
As far as I'm concerned, the Cloucester really shouldn't be its own KMF generation. The primary advancements the new machines made were adjustments for KMF-KMF combat. It's really just a Sutherland that's been optimized for pure KMF combat instead of other jobs. If anything, it should be a Gen X.5 or XB instead of its own thing.
I'll probably be beaten to the punch here, but I'll say it anyways.
For once, canon agrees and is sensible. The Gloucester is specifically referred to as "a Sutherland variant designed specifically to combat other Knighmare Frames, reflecting the Chinese Federation and the EU's development of their own Knightmare Frames". Similar to how the RPI-13 Sutherland is a sensible place to decide a generational shift from the RPI-11 Glasgow because the massive improvements in performance and major design changes.
The nonsense is how the first unit to actually be mass produced (RPI-11 Glasgow) is considered a fourth gen system. The first two generations are just nonsense since it's really just developing the technology.
As for the Gloucester being designed for pure KMF combat, the features that would get changed are mostly tied to it being optimized to fight more in melee range and often getting customized to the pilot's desires.
That means it's probably way more of a bitch to keep running, costs way more in upkeep, and suffers from reduced operational time for it's increased specs just to start. It also probably sacrifices range capability to better handle the melee combat it's meant for, and might be tuned for speed of response over accuracy*. One major hurdle to think about is the method they're supposed to handle damage -- are they supposed to prevent anything from getting damaged in the first place, are they supposed to take getting damaged and keep going, and things like that which get confused by the absurd number of custom variants it has.
*Allowing pilots to have it move faster and learn to compensate for the inaccuracy in the motions personally sounds interesting. It also can connect to the need to have elite pilots in some of the super prototypes -- something tuned so far into the speed and power end would take someone highly skilled to handle the minute differences between wild flailing and high level combat.
...but it's not. The Gloucester and Sutherland are both Generation 5 Knightmare Frames. The Gloucester, thus, is effectively a Generation 5.5 Knightmare Frame.
Fair enough, I must have misremembered details. Just checked the wiki links that hawkmoon helpfully dropped and Sutherland-Gloucesters are both 5th gen. My bad. Teach me to fact-check before going on a rant.
Regardless, on the note of 6th gen KMFs, I actually like the concept of a lost generation of mecha in tech progression. Technological advancement isn't a easy, linear thing. The Gawain being a dead-end outside of specific uses and never making it to mass production is, in my opinion, a good thing.
Fair enough, I must have misremembered details. Just checked the wiki links that hawkmoon helpfully dropped and Sutherland-Gloucesters are both 5th gen. My bad. Teach me to fact-check before going on a rant.
Regardless, on the note of 6th gen KMFs, I actually like the concept of a lost generation of mecha in tech progression. Technological advancement isn't a easy, linear thing. The Gawain being a dead-end outside of specific uses and never making it to mass production is, in my opinion, a good thing.
